The 23-year-old will undergo surgery in the coming days, with the six-to-nine-month rehabilitation process meaning he could miss the start of next season.

The devastating blow comes after Holding forced his way into Unai Emery’s first-team plans following an injury to Sokratis.

Rob Holding started nine Premier League games in a row after failing to feature in their first five matches

Holding replaced Sokratis in the 2-0 win over Everton on September 23, and went on to start the next nine Premier League matches, including the draw at United.

Stephan Lichtsteiner came on for Holding on Wednesday, and the Swiss 34-year-old is in line to make just his second league start of the season when Arsenal host Huddersfield on Saturday.

Club captain Laurent Koscielny is nearing a return from an Achilles injury that saw him miss the World Cup, but Emery confirmed the Frenchman is more likely to feature in next Thursday’s Europa League tie against Qarabag.